CHIMERA
by KillerEnzyme
Summary: After Chronos takes over the world during X-Day, a second Blacklight Virus outbreak occur, now dubbed the 'Mercer Virus'. Sergeant James Heller is infected by Alex Mercer while in the Red Zone where he encounter a chrysalis containing Guyver I, Sho Fukamachi. A Prototype-Guyver crossover.
1. Chapter 1: Chrysalis in the Red Zone

Sharpening his combat knife methodically, Sergeant James Heller remained silent as the other soldiers around him kept talking inside their APC.

"Why are we even here? We're supposed to be peacekeepers, handling civilians an' shit. Give this Red Zone bullshit to Blackwatch." Said one of the soldier to the other, while James remained silent.

"Shit, you want to leave a patrol to those baby-killers? Hell, baby killers is too nice. I bet their Zoanoids EAT babies." This immediately garnered a reaction from one of Zoanoid part of their squad. "Erm, look no offense man."

"No, it's fine. I get it. Blackwatch is fucking crazy, I'll give you that." replied the currently untransformed Zoanoid soldier. "Just don't think we're all like that, okay? Blackwatch is Blackwatch, whatever the fuck they really do. They're their own branch or some shit, I dunno, it's classified."

Soon, another of the Zoanoid soldier joined the conversation. "Hey, Heller! You asked to get processed yet? With all this crazy stuff going on around here, you got some serious balls to be on Red Zone duty without being processed."

The APC kept rolling around, patrolling the Red Zone. Not a pretty sight, the soldiers often thought. Even after things had gotten weirder, this outbreak was still the icing on the cake. Things had changed after X-Day. Chronos had revealed itself and taken over the world. Except things turned out rather fine, all things considered. The world became unified, peace reigned and science and medicine kept advancing by leaps and bounds. A far cry from the regime of terror people expected. In fact, people had started embracing Chronos with open hands.

But not James Heller. While he remained within the military, the sergeant had vehemently refused to be processed into a Zoanoid, ever after being offered a prestigious rank. With his skills, Chronos had plans to turn him into a new, high ranking Hyper-Zoanoid. However, James refused. He figured that some other poor schmuck had taken the offer in his place. He had never regretted the decision, not even once.

"Nah. I got no interest in being turned into a fucking monster." grimly replied the man, not even looking at his interlocutor while still methodically sharpening his knife, never changing pace. 'Beside, I don't fucking need it' thought Heller to himself.

Suddenly, a shock rocked the vehicle, sending them tumbling. Groaning in pain, James pulled himself from the wreckage and blinked, looking at the devastated, apocalyptic landscape around him, the city reduced to ruins overgrown by...whatever that red stuff was. James wasn't exactly sure what it was but he thought it was a bit gross and reminded him of some bloody slab of gooey meat. Nearby, a massive, scaly fist bursted from the debris and a large, oversized muscular green creature pulled itself up. A power-type zoanoid called a Gregole, recalled James, as he got told a few times.

"Heller, you all right?" asked the creature with it's distorted voice. Of course, the creature was one of the soldier previously in the APC alongside him. He must have survived the shock by transforming. Confirming James's suspicion, the other Zoanoid in his squad pulled itself from the debris, this one a hairy creature with fangs and claws.

"Ninja Three-Three, what's your squad status?" asked the radio.

Gliding down from the sky, leaving behind glowing trails, a man landed nearby, shattering the ground on impact and rising from the debris completely unharmed, despite being an unassuming, if somewhat suspicious man in a hoodie. "Holy shit." said James, whispering, not answering the radio's question. "Alex Mercer."

"Alex Mer-Oh shit! Red Crown, we've got Alex Mercer in RZ Grid Three-Four. Repeat! Alex Mercer is in the AO, RZ Grid Three-Four. We are awaiting your command." the radio chatter continued.

"Ninja Three-Three this is Red Crown. We are sending reinforcements to your location. Do not pursue Mercer. We are sending Zoanoid reinforcements. Do not pursue Mercer, repeat." That didn't sit well with James, not one bit. "Red Crown be advised; I'm not in fucking Blackwatch." To the utter shock of his Zoanoid squadmates, Heller pulled out his combat knife and charged at Mercer. The blade sank into his throat. And yet it didn't seem to do a thing as James found himself tossed aside like a ragdoll into a wall.

Seeing as their chance to lay low had been ruined, the two Zoanoids lept at Mercer. One landed next to him, Mercer having already moved out of the way, while the other lept down at the man. Once more, Mercer dodged out of the way. "What the hell are you anyway?" asked the Gregole. "'Cause you just look like any other scrawny guy I've ever met!" taunted the green creature, throwing a punch at the hooded man's face. With a single hand, small compared to that of the Zoanoid, Mercer stopped the punch, not even flinching.

With a single flick of Mercer's wrist, the Zoanoid's arm and shoulder broke with a sickening sound. While it reeled in pain, Mercer's right arm twisted and bulged, melting and reshaping into a long, curved blade. With a single swipe, the Gregole found itself bisected. The second zoanoid tried to intervene but met a similar fate. As Alex Mercer surveyed the carnage, he shook his head, perhaps in disappointment and then walked away, the blade folding back into his arm.

Grunting, James pulled himself back up despite the shattered ribs. As soon as Mercer had his back turned, the soldier charged the creature that had just made mincemeat of two Zoanoids. It was as if James Heller had become rage incarnate and maybe he was, as he kept stabbing and slicing Mercer, who instantly healed from the wounds. Tired of all this, Mercer punched him and the man got once more tossed aside. "What else you got?" said Mercer, smirking, as James pulled himself back up once again. "Come on, change. Transform. Let's fight like monsters."

"I'm not a fucking monster like you!" screamed out James as he charged Mercer once again, this time stabbing him in the eye. Lashing out like a mad animal, James punched Mercer again and again despite how unusually hard the man's body felt. For all his efforts, he found himself tossed to the ground yet again. "I can't believe it. You're just human. Someone here certainly has a death wish." And with that, Mercer, still smirking, began jogging away from James.

Heller's voice echoed across the empty streets: "MERCER, DON'T YOU RUN FROM ME!" However, Mercer had something else to do here, before this insane man tried to jump him and futilely attempt to murder him. There was something in a nearby abandoned Chronos building. Something he felt was calling out. Mercer had learned from those Blackwatch troopers that the place had been overrun during the viral outbreak and Chronos hadn't had the time to recover whatever was inside that building.

Mercer arrived at his destination, with Heller still in tow, running to catch his prey while in pain from his injuries. "What are you; answers to my questions, maybe?" wondered Mercer out loud as he began tearing apart the large door in the front of the Chronos facility. James Heller, still in tow, followed him into the building. The place was abandoned but mostly untouched, noticed Heller. It seemed like it was some sort of lab.

Inside a large underground room, several stories high, there was some large structure. Like a shell. Or a cocoon of some kind. Pale yellow in color, with a hint of a metallic tinge. "There you are." Mercer looked at it, fascinated. What was it? He knew he could vaguely feel there was something powerful inside, growing but that it wasn't related to the virus. It was something different. His body unfurling into writhing, fleshy tentacles, Mercer prepared himself to absorb whatever that chrysalis was into himself.

Yet this would prove to be both Mercer's greatest mistake but also his salvation. As his cells attacked the chrysalis, so did they. The power contained within it proved to be too much. Immediately, Mercer felt himself repelled by the chrysalis, causing him to fall to the ground, his physical form writhing in pain, temporarily losing shape, glowing tumours sprouting on his body and clothes, blades and claws randomly popping from his limbs.

His vision blurred, Alex saw a figure walking, nay, limping toward him, knife in hand, face twisted by rage. "Looks like this isn't your lucky day, Mercer." spitted out James. Mercer tried to speak but his body was being ravaged from his contact with the chrysalis, which had somehow overloaded his body. Heller had revenge right within his grasp. Seizing this rare opportunity, he furiously attacked Mercer's weakened body. Mercer's arms extended into long, segmented whips, one that managed to grasp Heller and pin him to a wall. Hoping absorbing this man would help him recover, Mercer began assimilating Heller into his body, tendrils erupting from the man's body and into his victim.

Something went wrong. Mercer knew it, even in his state of confusion. Letting go of Heller, he collapsed to the ground, the memories flooding back in. What he had done. All the people he had killed. Their screams. Weakened, Mercer stumbled around, before collapsing against a wall. On the other side of the room, James Heller was writhing in pain, the wound on his chest slowly closing. "Mer...cer…" whispered out Heller. Even when dying, his anger was still there.

"I miss you daddy!" Said a girl's voice in his mind. His girl. His little, precious girl. His daughter, Amaya. Everything was going dark, the world slowly fading away. As everything disappeared, James Heller recalled the last thing he had said to her; "I miss you too baby girl, but don't worry, daddy's coming home."


	2. Chapter 2: The Lab Rat

Stumbling outside the building, Alex Mercer was slowly recovering. His form had mostly stabilized but he still felt weak, as if a part of himself had been torn off from his body. His memories were in shamble.

Why was he back in New York? What was going on? Why was there a second outbreak? His memories slowly came back; after the events of New York, after the defeat of the Supreme Hunter, he had gone into hiding. That's when they revealed themselves; Chronos. During X-Day, Alex simply watched as the Zoanoids took over. At the time, he was in hiding, wondering what to do next, being a walking, sentient mass of the Blacklight Virus. Then there had been a new outbreak in New-York. An outbreak of Blacklight, now named the 'Mercer Virus'.

Hearing a roar, Alex looked up. Leaping down the building was a pack of large infected creatures. Hunters. Still feeling weakened, Mercer didn't feel up to fight these creatures, however, given their speed, he knew he couldn't outrun them. Attempting to shapeshift his body was met with failure. Not even claws would pop out. "Damn it." he said to himself, deadpan, understating the whole situation. Jumping, he narrowly avoided a pounce.

Suddenly, the whole scene became illuminated by a bright light. Choppers. "Alex Mercer is on the move. Repeat, Alex Mercer is on the move. Deploy Hyper-Zoanoids squads and engage." Mercer didn't like the sound of that, not while he felt weakened. Jumping from the two choppers were zoanoids, eight in total and of various breeds, none familiar to Mercer. Covered in thick plates or scales, often adorned with vicious spikes, most clawed they all looked monstrous. Charging Mercer, one of them did short work of a Hunter in the way, trampling the creature.

"So that's the dreaded Alex Mercer?" asked the Hyper-Zoanoid, amused at how easily they cornered the man who once wreaked havoc on the ranks of Blackwatch. Grabbing Mercer with it's pincer, it pulled it toward itself, dangling the blacklight creature mere inches away from it's hideous face. "I heard Chronos command is very interested in you. Thing is, I'm not impressed, you're either rather weak or clearly you can't keep up with new and improved Zoanoids!"

"Hmpf." Mercer kept a calm face. "I thought it was Blackwatch who had a bone to pick with me." His arms twitched and deformed briefly but return to normal, his shapeshifting still not properly functioning. "We all work for Chronos now, does it matter?"

With nothing left to lose, Mercer's tried one last trick. His body melting into a reddish goo, red tendrils erupted from his body, wrapping themselves around the Zoanoid who reeled back in shock. Rolling around, the creature was trying to shake off Mercer. "Get off it me!" It screamed before tossing Mercer aside who promptly reformed. "You're not very smart, aren't you?" snarked the hooded man before running off the side of a building, the Zoanoids chasing after him. He was too weak to 'eat' an hyper-zoanoid raw but that sure scared him briefly!

While unable to run at full speed, Mercer was still more agile than the creatures chasing him. That and he had plenty of experience navigating the city by jumping off buildings and gliding. He definitely had the home turf advantage, which he quickly used to lose his pursuers. "Hiding in here. What a joke." Mercer said to himself while trying once more to shapeshift. This time his attempt was meant with better results as his hands morphed into claws. "Huh. Much better."

* * *

Back in the abandoned Chronos facility, Heller was still on the floor, in pain and confused. Through his blurred vision, he saw Zoanoids surround him. The reinforcements Red Crown talked about, most likely. "Facility is secured but Mercer has escaped. Also; we have a...wounded, I guess." one of the untransformed Chronos soldier said, tapping Heller's body with his boot.

"He's infected, we're taking him back to base as a specimen." said another. "Hell...no." wheezed out Heller, still unable to move. "Get your...greasy hands...the fuck off me." Then everything went white. Then black.

* * *

Around him, people were talking. Heller could overhear them, vaguely. Talking about specimens, experiments, burning the place and how he was infected. "What...the…" James wheezed out, still confused, images of his wife and child flashing in his mind. "Heller is Chronos property now. You will run these experiments" A voice said, harsh. Likely military. Likely an asshole, too, thought James. "And you, give me status report on the chrysalis."

* * *

Elsewhere within the base, Chronos and Blackwatch scientists were busy studying the chrysalis, trying to understand it's nature and purpose. Inside it was Sho Fukamachi, Guyver I, in a semi-awake state. Within the pulsing cocoon, the Guyver was finishing his transformation when he picked up something. Or rather someone. Someone full of anger and rage toward Chronos and Blackwatch. While more volatile, that person still felt intimately familiar to Sho in a way. Just as Sho was fighting to protect Mizuki and Tetsuro, that person was fighting for someone, even if they were deceased. They anchored that person to humanity just as Mizuki and Tetsuro did for Sho. They gave him a reason and purpose.

* * *

"What kind of sick shit is this?" yelled James Heller out loud, as he got tossed into a large room with multiple hungry infected. They all shambled toward him, limping on their deformed legs and swaying their misshapen arms around. Faced with no other choice but to fight, Heller clenched his fist and threw a punch at one of the monster's face...which then promptly exploded into a shower of gore. "Whoa! What the hell?" He didn't question himself for long, since these creatures kept coming at him and his only way of surviving was punching and kicking them to the point of explosion. "Let me out of here!" roared the sargeant.

"You have what you need, Doctor Koenig?" James could overhear the military man talking to the scientist. "Colonel, please, we must learn all we can about the subject. He might be the key to Project Chimera."

"Project Chima-what?" James yelled out. "Hey, you fuckers know I can hear you, right? You're not turning me into some kind of lab rat! I'll kill you when I get out of here!" Angry and out for blood, Heller continued to repeatedly puddle infected civilians into jelly.

"He's too dangerous! Burn him down!" ordered the military from earlier, from behind a thick glass above in the room. "Rooks, you can't he's too valuable, that would be against the direct orders of Doctor Barcas, we NEED such a potent Blacklight specimen!" the scientist pleaded.

The man in charge certainly did not seem to care; "Burn him." James found himself engulfed in flames and collapsed to the ground, burned to a crisp, barely able to move. "Get cleanup and recovery in there."

"No signs of life, sir." said the Blackwatch trooper after getting in the room. There was no reaction, not even a twitch from the burnt and smoking corpse, faintly glowing as the insides were exposed; there wasn't really anything remotely human underneath Heller's flesh, just glowing, burned infected biomass. "Make sure. I don't need another Mercer running around."

"Yes sir." said the soldier, shooting the corpse. Again, no reaction. "Look at the bright side, Koenig, we still have his remains for st-." The commander didn't have the chance to finish his sentence as Heller rose from the ground with lightning-fast speed, grabbed one of the Blackwatch soldier by the throat and then slammed him at full force into the ground. Tendrils of reddish flesh extended from Heller's body, engulfing the poor bastard, who soon found himself absorbed into his attacker's body. Heller screamed, half from, half from triumph as his wounds began to heal, his flesh regenerating to a pristine state. "Oh my-" screamed the other soldier, who couldn't finish his sentence either as James grabbed his gun, crushed it with one hand and then used the other to grab the soldier's face. He met the same fate as his companion: consumption.

"Holy shit! What the fuck did he do to me?" Grabbing a pair of infected, one with each hand, James tossed them both at the window. However, this only caused them to explode like balloons. Since that didn't work so well, he turned his attention to table, the one he had been strapped to before being released to fight the infected. Screaming, he tossed it at the window, shattering it. With a way to escape, James lept. He didn't have time to consume Koenig or the other man, despite how much he wanted to. He needed to escape.

Running down the base at full speed while being fired at, Heller came across a large window. Down below, in a room similar to the one he was, there was a large yellow cocoon, something he remembered Mercer was interested in. In the back of his mind, Heller felt something. A pulse. Coming from the chrysalis. "What the…" Shattering the window, Heller dropped down, crushing some unlucky scientist beneath him as he land. "What the hell are you? What do you want?"

"The escaped test subject is near the chrysalis, get him!" Arriving from all directions were all manners of Zoanoids. "Well, shit. I guess this ain't my lucky day." Heller muttered to himself. Surrounded by Zoanoids, Heller tried to fight back but there was simply too many of them and they were overpowering him. "I'm not going to die here!" he shouted, as he grabbed one Zoanoid to whack another only for a third to tackle him to the ground and stab him with it's claw. Enraged, Heller grabbed the creature's head and squeezed it until it popped like an overripe fruit. One day, a dozen more to go.

"I ain't done yet! Because I ain't DYING HERE!" shouted Heller. "You hear me, you monsters? I'm not done yet! You ain't taking me down!" He punctuate his sentence by punching one of the zoanoid in the stomach. "I'm gonna fight to the fucking end!" A big, furred zoanoid, a Ramotith, met it's end as Heller elbowed it's face off before grabbing the arm and beating it to death with it.

'I can't die here.' thought Heller. 'Maya. Colette.' That's when the pulse happened. A powerful pulse, emanating from the chrysalis, which started glowing brightly. Slowly it began unfurling, piece by piece. There was something inside, vaguely visible behind all the glow. A massive figure, taller than James and the zoanoids emerged and stood up from the cocoon. "Now what?" grunted James, worried he'd have to fight his way past the giant creature.

The metal circle on it's forehead glowed. Eyes lighted up. And the vents on the side of it's face exhaled smoke. Guyver Gigantic had awakened.


	3. Chapter 3: Those Who Fight Chronos

Exhaling from it's facial vents, Guyver Gigantic surveyed the scene briefly, towering over everything in the room.

"Oh man, it's huge." James muttered, unsure if the creature was friend or foe. "Kill it! Whatever it is, kill it!" yelled the human Blackwatch troopers. More swarmed into the room, all with rocket launchers. They opened fire on the Guyver, who simply stood there. In a flash, a glowing orb formed around the Guyver and Heller, the missiles harmlessly exploding off it.

Heller breathed a sigh of relief. "Well, shit, I'll take it you're friendly." The creature remained silent behind it's globe of light arms crossed, orbs on it's body glowing. Then, the front of the Guyver's chest unfurled and opened, revealing two more orb-like shapes that began to glow. Noticing the phenomena, James Heller ran at full speed behind the Guyver as soon as the sphere disappeared. The zoanoid and soldiers screamed to retreat but it was too late for them. In a blinding flash of light and a torrent of heat, nearly half of the entire base was destroyed.

Almost knocked out by the aftershock of the blast, Heller looked at the enormous, molten hole that used to be the base. A burning tunnel to the surface had been carved open by the Guyver's Giga Smasher. "Holy shit..." James couldn't believe how much sheer destructive power that thing held.

Then, to James's surprise, the creature began to unfold and peel away, as if it's current form was merely some kind of shell. Beneath it was a similar creature, much smaller in size and a light blue in color. The parts of the large yellow creature folded back into their chrysalis, which vanished into thin air. Then the smaller creature unfolded too, revealing the form of a young boy, who promptly collapsed on the ground.

"It's just a kid!" James was surprised, Something this this powerful was actually nothing but some boy. Immediately, James went to pick him up. "Kid. Hey kid." He shook him a little bit. No answer. "Aw, shit, he's out cold. Don't worry kid, I'm gonna get you outta here!" Running as fast as his new, infected self could, James Heller swiftly escaped the premises while Blackwatch was still recovering from the massive explosion.

* * *

"Man, I'm all covered in blood and carrying a naked boy, what the fuck is this going to look like" wondered Heller as he was leaping from rooftop to rooftop, thanks to his enhanced speed and strength. Once he found himself what he thought was a safe distance from the base, he took a moment to catch his breath. Gliding nearly silently, a figure landed behind him. "We need to talk." Mercer said.

"You!" Heller pointed his finger. "What the hell have you done to me? Answer me or I'll MAKE you answer!" Mercer remained completely unfazed.

"I gave you the Mercer Virus." said the hooded man. "That's what they call it now, right? Not really my intention but it I suppose it happened. Doesn't really matter how. That wasn't my plan but no matter, we can use that to our advantage against them."

James didn't seem to fully understand. "Us? Against...who? What is going on here?" He screamed out.

Mercer shook his head. "Huh. You might want to cool down, all that anger isn't good for you or your reasoning, you know. Against Blackwatch, of course. And Gentek. And, of course, Chronos now. They run our little freakshow, now. Doesn't seem strange to you, that whole viral outbreak?"

James kept silent, even if he did think that, in hindsight there had always been something weird going on. "How did Chronos let something this big happen on their watch?" continued Mercer. "Wake up, Heller; this is a bioweapon test, designed by Gentek, a branch of Chronos, controlled by Blackwatch, blamed on me. Clearly they're not content with just one kind of monster."

Mercer pointed down to the streets below. "Just grab one of them. Get the memories you need. You'll see. Wait, let me just grab one." He smirked under his hood. "I'll be back in a moment." Before Heller could react, Mercer dropped the side of the building. A moment later he jumped back, a wiggling man trapped in his claws, his voice muffled as to not alert other Blackwatch troopers.

"Let it happen." Mercer touched Heller's arm and it unfurled into glowing, half-melted biomass and tendrils. "Let it come to you." The sergeant hesitated for a brief moment before sinking his arm into the man's body. And then it happened.

* * *

_A white flash. Distorted noises. Faces. More noise. Image fluttering in Heller's sight._

_"This experiment has to be properly contained, you understand me clearly soldier?"_

_Files. Lots of files. Another face. More noises. Documentation about the virus. Gentek's logo._

_"Yes, sir."_

_Directives to contain the virus. Noise. Location of Blackwatch outposts. Noise._

_"Good, we don't need any more screws up. These orders are coming directly from Chronos headquarters. They want this experiment done in proper order, are we clear?"_

_Blackwatch troopers marching down a street. More faces. More files. A briefing._

_"Yes, sir."_

_The sound of boots on the floor. Noises again. Chronos' logo. The smell of people sweating. Once more, a face._

_"Good…"_

* * *

A mimicry of the recently consumed soldier fell on it's knees, it's clothes morphing back into the shape of James Heller, who gasped. "What was that?" He could hear it in his head. The screams of the man he had just devoured. He could clearly remember the man's last thoughts. And those of the others he had previously devoured.

"Everything you consume makes you stronger. You take their shape and their memories." Alex explained while James was slowly recovering. Walking around the rooftop, Mercer stopped, glancing at Sho. "Hm, what about him?"

"I don't know, he was in that cocoon-thing. Some giant armored thing popped out, blew the goddamn base and just, I don't know, peeled itself away and there was this kid inside!" explained Heller at the best of his abilities.

"So he's not a Zoanoid, then? Hm." Mercer pondered for a moment. "He's definitely not one of us, however." Heller soon put himself between the boy and Mercer. "You keep your hands off him. Look, I've seen your weird shit but I haven't seen nothing that will make me believe you!"

Mercer shrugged. "They locked you up and experimented on you and who knows what else? Plus, I'm sure they would have tried to kill that kid over there. I didn't release the virus" He put a hand on Heller's shoulder "I didn't kill your wife and kid."

The sergeant brushed the hand away, reeling back from the contact with his sworn enemy. "So what, you want to fight them?" asked James. Mercer looked down at the streets, crawling with Blackwatch and Chronos soldiers. "I want to destroy them. Chronos, Blackwatch, Gentek. They're all the same thing. You know what I'm telling is the truth. And admit it, you've always hated them. Someone of your rank and skill and still not a Zoanoid?"

Heller shook his head. "I never liked the idea of being turned into a fucking monster. Not that I got a choice now. Fuckers took over the country but I kept working for them to keep Maya and Colette safe. Look where it got me."

"Well, here's your chance to make a difference and take out those bastards but you can't do it now. You're not strong enough; they've been experimenting with the virus, making all kinds of infected creature. Hunt them. Consume. Evolve. I'll get you when you're ready." His hooded companion walked to the edge of the building.

"Nah, I'm just gonna go eat up some Zoanoids!" Heller already relished the potential for mayhem and destruction he could cause. Those bastards tried to cut him and killed his family and they would pay!

"That won't work." informed Mercer. "While we can consume Zoanoids, I haven't been able to replicate their battleform or their abilities. Must be something in their creation. You'll have to stick to a purely infected diet for now." He then turned to Heller. "And for god sake, put some fucking clothes on."

With a thought, Heller formed himself some clothes out of pure biomass. At the corner of his eye, he spotted Mercer gliding away. Picking up the unconscious boy, Heller leapt away to find a safe house.

* * *

Sho rolled around, his sleep disturbed by dreams. Or rather nightmares. Of the Zoalord Guyot killing Murakami. Of Archanfel defeating him until, in his dreams, he transformed into a towering giant. 'Power. I need more power' said Sho to himself in his dreams. The image of Archanfel was burned into his mind. He needed to defeat the Zoalord. He knew what he had to do. He had to fight the Zoalords and put an end to their plan, once and for all.

Then he remembered someone else. A voice. A presence full of anger. It felt powerful, or at least full of untapped power. And a second presence, similar to the first but more powerful. Who or what were they? Sho couldn't remember, his dreams still feverish. The images of Testuro, Mizuki and Agito floated in his mind.

Waking up, Sho immediately felt confused. He had no idea where he was. People nearby were talking in a strange language. Confused, he got up and started running out of the room to the nearest window. Heller heard the ruckus and someone shouting a strange word followed by a flash of light and an explosion. "Aw, shit." muttered Heller as he saw a blue creature leap the side of the church. "I think we just lost him."


	4. Chapter 4: Tooth and Claw

'Where am I?' wondered Sho, as the guyver sprinted and leapt from building to building. 'Mizuki! Tetsuro! Please be safe.' His mind wandered off, briefly, back to the scene at Relic's point. The glowing Zoalord with overwhelming power. The destruction of the Relic and everything else.

Like Murakami's death. It hit Sho like a bullet through his body. 'Murakami! No, why it did have to be like this. I will avenge you, I swear it.' Floating down to another building, the boy paused to asses his surroundings.

The two metallic orbs on the side of the Guyver began to move back and forth as Guyver scanned his surroundings. 'What is this place?' There were people around and a lot of them. 'Tokyo? No, The signs are in another language. Wait! It's english'. His attention then focused to the soldiers patrolling down below. 'Who are these people? Chronos?' He then shifted his attention to another group of soldier, rounding up civilians into trucks.

"Come on, asswipes. Move it, we don't have all day!" shouted the Blackwatch trooper, pointing his gun at a family, the mother pleading for her life while her child screamed in terror. With soft noise, Guyver I landed behind him. ["Let them go."] said the Guyver, pointing his finger. "Who the hell are you? We didn't ask for reinforcements."

Guyver I took a step forward; ["I said; Let them go."] One of the soldier raised his weapon, pointing it at the bioboosted being. "I don't understand a goddamn word of what he's saying. Permission to shoot, sir?" he asked his superior. "Permission granted. Get rid of this sucker, whatever he is."

'I can't take them out yet.' thought Sho. 'They haven't transformed, they might just be ordinary people. But then why would they be rounding up people like that?' Leaping out of the way to dodge the incoming fire, the Guyver focused it's body heat into thin beams, firing at the soldier's weapons, cutting them apart. "Shit, my gun!" shouted one of them as it fell to ground as molten pieces. The people in the back of the truck looked at the scene with anxiety and curiosity.

Meanwhile as Blackwatch troops poured into the area, their officer coldly stood there, dropping his weapons and removing his helmet, exposing glowing eyes. His face twisted and distorted, fangs grew from his mouth and his formed bulged and twisted. With a ripping sound, his body armor and clothes were ripped apart as a massive, powerfully-built creature with furred limbs and back emerged from his form. 'A Zoanoid! I knew it!' the boy thought as the creature revealed itself.

"I don't know what you are but I'm bringing you back to command like a trophy!" boasted the Zoanoid, charging the Guyver. For Sho, that almost felt like routine as he grabbed the Zoanoid and the tossed it aside, completely overpowering the creature. Roaring, it charged once more at the Guyver, who react by assuming a ready stance. From it's arms, a glowing blade popped. With a single gesture, the Zoanoid met it's end as it collapsed on the floor, cut in half, not even remotely a match. His victory was short lived as more Blackwatch troops poured into the scene.

Sho couldn't understand what they were saying over the radio but, if he could, he would have known he was in trouble as Blackwatch called for backup, sending in a strike team to take down that 'rogue Zoanoid', which was what the Blackwatch troopers assumed the creature was. Unused to the sheer amount of firepower and manpower Blackwatch (and by extension, now Chronos) could deploy against a target, Sho wasn't aware of the trouble he was in.

'It's no good! I can't fight here.' he mentally said to himself. 'Too many innocents around. I don't want to risk hurting them.' Zoanoids were coming in from every direction, dropping from choppers, soldiers were flooding the streets. 'There's no way I can avoid harming people here. I can't fire the Mega Smasher here.'

* * *

"James, look." Inside the church, hidden from prying eyes, Father Guerra's had his own little lair, so to speak. Somewhere he could secretly undermine Blackwatch and Chronos. "What is it father?" asked the sergeant. The two had laid low ever since Sho escaped, Guerra calming down James and urging him not to chase after their escaped guest. "I've intercepted some transmissions. Not only that but they're urging people to leave the streets due to infected activity. However, these transmissions I just mentioned? They talk of some hostile creature."

"You think that's him?" asked James. "Si." immediately replied Father Guerra. "If it really is as powerful as you describe, then it's no wonder these Blackwatch putas are panicking like if someone had just put a snake in their pants." James turned his back and headed toward the door; "Alright, stay put. I'll go get him. Whatever the hell he is, he's stirring up Chronos' shit like crazy!"

"Exactly. James, I have to say; I doubt you can take on Blackwatch by yourself but maybe if the two of you have a similar goal, then we might stand a chance." Guerra turned back to the computer screen and monitoring transmissions. "Just be careful out there, James. They're throwing everything they got at this...thing."

* * *

The zoanoid slaughter continued, much to Sho's disgust. In fact, the boy was starting to lament all these creatures he had to destroy, knowing that each was a life irremediably ruined by Chronos' manipulations. Of course, what he didn't know was the kind of persons Blackwatch normally recruited. If he knew, he wouldn't feel bad about it. Running, slicing with his high-frequency blades, Sho continued to cut a path through another squad of Blackwatch's zoanoids, carefully trying to avoid the use of any weapon that would risk harming bystanders or buildings. Much to his horror, he soon realized that the soldiers had no such qualms, opening fire with their rocket launchers in the streets. 'Who are these people?' he asked himself.

Sho didn't have time to get answers to his questions as one more Zoanoid stood in his way. "Guyver! So you're still alive!" it shouted in japanese, pointing with it's clawed hand. "Yes, I remember you! After all, I was there at Relic's point. Allow me to return a favor!" Plates on the creature's shoulders and chest flipped open, each revealing two small bio-blasting organs. With little to no charge time, each fired a beam. Instinctively, Guyver I moved out of the path of the beams...only for one to somehow hit his leg and nearly vaporized it. In shock, he fell to the ground, clutching the leg, the wound having already been cauterized.

"As the Hyper-Zoanoid Kazdur." explains the creature. "My Bio-blasters are many times over more powerful and faster to fire than any regular bio-blaster. Not only that! I can also bend the path of my beams" Sho didn't waste time, as soon as he found this out he lifted his damaged body into the air, avoiding the beams at the best of his capacity, the whole battle turning into an aerial dogfight. 'No good! I can't completely avoid his beams!" said the japanese boy to himself as yet another beam grazed the side of the Guyver's shoulder. 'I need an opening to fire.'

"I can keep doing this all day, Guyver I. In fact, I'll be happy to! I'm sure to get a promotion for your capture. I could even skyrocket and become the right hand of one of our masters! I can already see it; just how far I can go!" The creature kept rambling to itself, proud of it's newfound power.

From behind the buildings rose two helicopters. "Yes! Capture the Guyver." shouted Kazdur. "Capture him and tell them that I, Kazdur, was the on wh-AAARGH!" An orb of gravity crashed into the Kazdur's shoulder, shredding it's body apart. The Guyver had fired it's pressure cannon, however it hadn't managed to destroy the Hyper-Zoanoid with a single blow. "You gloated too much." pointed out Sho. One thing he had started to catch on was that Zoanoids certainly loved to gloat about how supposedly powerful they were and how they were the one who would defeat him.

"The Guyver!" shrieked the creature to the chopper pilots. "Get him now!" To both Sho and Kazdur's shock, one of the helicopter pilot leaped out of the cockpit, sending his chopper crashing. Fighting the other pilot, his body exploded into a mass of tentacles, consuming the second pilot. Then with a great leap, he landed right on Kazdur and shattered the Zoanoid's body. With a sickening noise, tentacles erupted from the pilot's body, pulling in the bits and pieces of the hyper-zoanoid into his own. Then, the shapeless gory mess reformed into a bald, dark-skinned man holding his head as memories flooded his own mind.

Guyver I stood there, still floating inches above the ground, ready to fight should this prove itself to be a new foe. "Ugh, ah…" grunted out James Heller, before turning to the Guyver. "Man, you have NO idea the shit I went through just to reach you."

"Who...are you? What are you?" Sho was shocked by all this. "Are you a Lost Number, like Aptom?" After all, the man had just physically consumed an entire Zoanoid.

"Lost Number, the hell is th-" Suddenly, James stopped. "Wait, am I speaking japanese now?" He had just realized that the entire conversation had just happened in a completely different language. "Holy shit! I learned japanese from eating that Zoanoid." muttered James, back in english.

"We can't stay here." replied the boy. "Just tell me; you are not with Chronos, aren't you?" He needed to be sure, even if the man had just consumed a Zoanoid. Things were so confusing that Sho couldn't help but feel suspicious about anyone. He was in an unknown city, in a different country and now Chronos seemingly was operating openly.

"Hell no." James spitted. "I know somewhere safe. Come on."

* * *

With his newfound ability to communicate with Sho Fukamachi, things became much clearer for James which unfortunately did absolutely nothing to quell his anger and disgust of Chronos. Especially not once Sho finished his long, insane tale of how he bonded with the Guyer, leading up to his confrontation with the Zoalords at Mount Minakami. On his end, James Heller explained what he knew of the events of New York.

"So these...Blackwatch." asked Sho. "They're part of Chronos but they existed before Chronos took over?"

James nodded. "Yeah, and now those sons of bitches are now their own branch of Chronos. I don't know their entire deal but I know they're sick people. Ruthless, sick and twisted mad bastards. They're even performing experiments on civilians." The man turned to Father Guerra, speaking back in english; "Father, I hope you know where all those experiments are located because I'm about to go down there and raise hell."

"Yes, James, there's a scheduled Bio-weapon test tonight. It's going to be tested on civilians." Guerra double-checked the location, which took some time. "Found it!"

* * *

"You better not choke or freeze out there." told James to Sho, as the two were heading toward the testing ground, James gliding from building to building, while the Guyver flew through the air. "I get it, you're just a kid. You don't like killing, but keep in mind this is Blackwatch. These guys don't play nice, and that's being too fucking kind a description. So Zoanoid or not, you take them down." He continued to explain.

Sho remained silent, finding the topic somewhat unpleasant. Immediately, he couldn't help but draw a certain parallel between James Heller and Agito Makishima. Both certainly has no qualms about killing. Then he recalled how Blackwatch had been rounding up the civilians. In a way, he understood what James meant. These were ruthless people and were monsters even without being turned into Zoanoids. Those weren't victims of brainwashing but rather people more than willing to commit atrocities if ordered. It then occurred to him that he had no idea where Agito was. Surely, he couldn't be dead. However, that train of thought would have to wait for another day.

"This is it." said James as they two overlooked the scene from the top of a building, indifferent to the wind and rain. Both the Guyver and...whatever James was felt bothered by such weather. Still, it made reconnaissance ever so slightly harder. "Huh, guess they haven't started yet. Okay kid, can you do the giant thing?"

Sho wasn't exactly sure what he meant. James didn't bother with it for now. "Nevermind. Okay, what else can you do?" As an answer, the two metallic orbs on each side of the Guyver's head began moving. "I sense about three dozen guards. Two Zoanoids, already transformed, are guarding a large metal cage." Sho then gasped. "There's something in it."

James nodded. "Must be that infected creature. I need that thing's DNA. You raise hell while I sneak past the guards and go eat that creature!" And then James shifted shape to imitate a Blackwatch soldier while dropping off the side of the building.

"Where did you come fr-" asked the officer. The man was unable to finish his sentence as James snapped his neck and absorbed him, assuming his shape. The deed had been done quickly, the span of a few seconds where nobody was watching. Sometimes James wondered how it was so easy. Not long after, chaos erupted. The Guyver had been spotted! Immediately, the troops began moving. Of course, they wouldn't all abandon their posts but the general chaos was all James needed. Grabbing a blackwatch trooper that had the misfortune of passing nearby, James consumed him and took his weapon; a rocket launcher. The two Zoanoids guarding the cage never saw it coming.

As they stood up, having been knocked aside by the multiple rockets fired, an angry James Heller came crashing down on them like a human cannonball. A Gregole met it's end when James proceeded to suplex him. The other Zoanoid didn't last very long either as Heller, with bits and pieces of a Gregole still dangling off his body, half-absorbed, unleashed a destructive uppercut, breaking it's skull. It too soon became lunch for Heller. "Well, shit; Mercer wasn't kidding." His strength, speed and endurance had already grown dramatically from his consumptions, making him able to win against Zoanoids where he had previously struggled.

James' hand twisted and reshaped itself, mimicking the officer's own. "Now, let's see what kind of ugly motherfucker they got locked inside that box." The cage responded to the hand scan and the door began to slide, revealing the creature inside. Massive, muscular with rubbery flesh, much like an infected. It's resemblance to a Hunter was noticeable. It's glowing eyes met James' own and, with impossibly speed, it jumped out of it's cage. With a backflip, Heller avoided the creature's blow, which could have proven fatal. It roared and it's flesh began to twist and reshape, it's arms turning into a tangled mass of bioluminescent infected flesh, similar to Heller's own whenever it exposed itself. However, the similarities ended there as it glowing a blue-ish, purple color, unlike Jame's reddish orange. At the tip of it's hands were now long, sharp metallic claws.

"What the FUCK is that?!" shouted the sergeant as he kept avoiding the fast, deadly swipes of the creature. Roaring, it continued to assault James, eventually landing a hit, slicing open his chest. Almost bisected in half, James only survived due to the fact he didn't really need bones or internal organs. His wound healed almost instantly, but he knew that this had weakened him greatly. Furious, he began pummeling the monster's face with punches that would cause an ordinary man to explode like an overripe fruit. Then, to finish it off, James proceeded to roundhouse kick the creature's body, snapping it's spine in half. "There, how do you like that you fucker?!" He shouted, triumphant.

Or not, as the creature leapt back on it's feet. With a sickening crunch, it's spine adjusted itself back. "Fuck." muttered James. He didn't even have the time to dodge the next blow. Or the other fives that came after as the creature's oversized claws began to slice and dice his body, painting the ground and nearby buildings with James' infected biomass. It then sliced off his arm, which fell into a puddle of water nearby. Immediately, his infected body tried to grow back a new arm but all it could manage was a lump of useless flesh. His body was running out of biomass.

"You think that's going to stop me, asshole?! Come and get me!" Roared out James, taunting the monster, which came charging at him once more. 'Stupid fucker' he thought, as the creature ended up slamming face-first into a nearby abandoned tank. No doubt it's crew never had the chance to enter it when Guyver I passed. Jumping to the other tank next to it, James began pulling on the gatling gun, using his only valid arm. No easy feat in his current state. Screaming, he opened fire, shots spraying shots all over but for the most part focused them on the monstrous creature, shredding it. Then, to finish things off, a leaping kick squashed the beast' head on the pavement. Yet, even that wasn't enough to keep it dead as it's skull began reforming.

As it struggled, it tried to swing it's clawed arm at Heller. Taking this as an opportunity, the man wrapped his valid arm around it in an iron grip. "How about I take YOUR arm?" shouted Heller as pulled the arm off it's socket. Holding onto it, he pulled the arm into his own body, assimilating it. His flesh twisted, erupting into tendrils and raw, slimy biomass before reforming, including his arm, now ending in long, sharp claws as was the other. "Now we're talking!"

With the prey at his mercy, Heller pounced, stabbing the creature in the neck and chest repeatedly. Relentlessly, James continued to hit the creature. With a finishing blow, Heller plunged his claws into the creature as tendrils emerged from his body, consuming the shrieking Hunter. It's only when he was done absorbing it that he realized Guyver I was looking at the gross scene. "Where the hell have you been?" asked James. "Nevermind, we're getting out of here."

"I had to run." finally explained Sho. "I couldn't fight to my fullest in the middle of the city. I didn't want to hurt people." Heller had nothing to say about that reasoning, it certainly made sense. "Good job kid." he finally said. "You dragged them away from me and we stopped them from testing out that monster on people, we couldn't have done it any better." Now that they were approaching the church, they could continue on foot so James retracted his claw and Sho removed the bioboost armor. "Still, there's a lot more hell we're going to need raising. And maybe, just maybe we'll figure out a way to send you back to Japan but you gotta understand it won't be easy. It's going to be pretty fucking hard." said James, glancing over at Sho. "I get it kid, you miss people close to you. People you'd give your life to protect and you don't even know if they're alive; I understand. Believe me."

* * *

Bonus: Data Files

[REDACTED]

Modified Hunter

Height: [Unknown]

Weight: [Unknown]

Modified and enhanced Hunter. All other information currently unknown. Consumed by James Heller, who acquired it's claws.

Kazdur

Experimental Bio Blaster Hyper Zoanoid

Height: 235cm

Weight: 166kg

Reprocessed from a simple Vamore, Kazdur is an Hyper-Zoanoid boasting some impressive capabilities. It's shoulders and chest posses many small, yet potent, bio-blasters. However it's most impressive and unique feature is the ability to bend it's beams with a mere thought. Despite being a Bio-blaster, Kazdur has also been optimized for close combat for greater chances of survival, boasting twenty five times the strength of an average person, which is more than baseline Power-Type zoanoids. Consumed by James Heller.

Vornagg

Power-Type Hyper Zoanoid

Height: 237cm

Weight: 170kg

An experimental Power-Type Hyper Zoanoid encountered by Alex Mercer in the Red Zone. Was supposed to be a next-gen enforcer and assault troop but processing proved to be far too complicated and costly for it's intended role, a common problem in Zoanoid processing. Only seven were made and assigned to various branches. Posses powerful cutting pincers and short bony spurs on articulations that can be used to injure those who attempt to grapple it. Has a mixture of reptilian and crustacean features.

Turendol

Power-Type Zoanoid

Height: 240cm

Weight: 190kg

A heavy-duty Power-Type Zoanoid. Heavily modified from the Ramotith line, it has a large, stocky grey-skinned body with short coarse black fur on it's arms and legs. It's endurance and stamina is on the high-end of ordinary Zoanoids. It's bulk also belies a surprising speed for such a stocky creature. Beyond that it is a fairly ordinary Zoanoid. It had a short production run before being phased out and can be commonly encountered amongst the ranks of Blackwatch officers.


End file.
